As soon as Bartolo returned, he brought us a report of our victory.
　We sent a captured Allied commander as an emissary to urge him to surrender.

　Was it because our last hope had been crushed by the destruction of our reinforcements?
　Or was it because we realized that we would not be able to avoid the fall of the city if we did not?

　Two days later, the city-state that had been at the center of the rebellion accepted the surrender.
　The central city surrendered, and all the cities that had rebelled and those that had shown neutrality came together to tell me that they were going to swear allegiance to me.

　Following Bartolo's approach, the cities were all burned to the ground.
　The bright red flames will burn in the hearts of the Cilician Adelnians.

　Now you understand what it means to stand against me.
　I hope this will prevent the rebellion from ever happening again.

　At any rate, the rebellion came to an early end.






　Well, the rebellion is over, but the problem is not over.

　There are five issues that need to be resolved as soon as possible.

　One, the strikes that are taking place in the country.
　Two, the distribution of the loot from the looting.
　Three, the treatment of the Cilician Adelnians who have lost their cities.
　Four, the treatment of the cities that revolted.
　Fifth, the treatment of the Cilician cities that supported the rebellion and sent reinforcements, and the Cilician merchants who supported the rebellion behind the scenes.


　'Where shall we start for now, Raimondo?
　'Don't we have to do this at the same time?　None of these issues can be put off.

　Well......
　Although there are differences in priorities, does it remain the same in that it needs to be resolved as soon as possible?

　'First of all, Bartolo. "First, Bartolo, you get your loot in order. The bureaucrats can use it as they please. Make the books and calculate the value.　
　...Okay. Huh........I'm not good with numbers.

　The distribution of the spoils of war must be done fairly or the soldiers will complain about it.
　Also, wounded soldiers and those who have fought in the war need such a generous guarantee.

　Most of the war is a credit to Bartolo's army.
　Bartolo would know best who worked and how much.

　Next up.....

　'Ron, Gram. I'm ordering you to deal with the Cilician Adelnians in exile. Disperse them throughout the country so that they don't form a single mass. We can use them for land reclamation and cultivation.
　'Yes!　All right. I'll handle you in the woods of Romalia.
　''Hmm, it's best to distribute them as far north as possible. The Cilician merchants are also very active in the south...''

　Gram and Ron nodded vigorously.
　'Gram is responsible for pioneering and Ron is responsible for maintaining security and other things in the country.

　This issue must be handled carefully.
　If they were lumped together, they could revolt again.
　On the other hand, if we disperse them and give them land to cultivate, they won't have time to think about revolts.

　The two of you will make a good difference.

　"Ial, I want you to set up peace talks with the cities that are supporting this rebellion. I want you to come around first. "You'll be the first to go around, but the real negotiations will have to wait.
　I understand. Your Majesty. I'll go with the pro-Rossians and denounce it.

　Diplomatic negotiations are ial.
　I don't need to think about this.

　And I'm....
　Raimondo and I will take care of the cities that have gone on strike and revolted.





　''Your Majesty, I have ordered each city to bring a representative to King's Landing in a week's time as you ordered... Wouldn't it have been better if we had sunk the strike first?
　No, since we haven't made peace with the Cilician cities, we need to drive a wedge into them quickly. We can't afford to take any chances.

　Nevertheless, if we don't do this, we will be able to see the refusal of our country's peasants to serve in the military in the eyes of the representatives of the various cities.
　By the time they arrive, we must settle this matter as well.

　'How far do you intend to go with their demands, Your Majesty?
　Well, I'm not saying all of them.

　Basically, most peasants want nothing more than a clear statement of the law.
　But some hardliners want them to participate in politics.

　'I don't think it would work properly even if we allowed the existence of a commoners' association in the first place. Direct democracy is impossible in our country, which is a territorial state, and representative democracy is expensive.

　Democracy costs money.
　It would be nice if the country were a city-state with one small city to complete the country, but our country graduated from the city-state a long time ago.

　It's not realistic.

　'We'll definitely have to make the laws clearer or they won't back down. And ... let's also ... preemptively include a guarantee of private property and equality in the criminal law for royalty, great families and commoners.

　If we don't do this, in a few years, there will be someone else to claim it.
　So let's go ahead and make the first move.

　It's called reform from the top.

　''Is this also a trend of the times.......It was unthinkable a few decades ago that royalty, great families and commoners would be subjected to the same punishment, even if it's criminal. ...And I have a proposal to make.
　What?
　'How about we give the commoners a chance to have their say?　The commoners strike because they believe that otherwise we will not listen to their demands. But we, too, will have no choice but to adopt a hard-line stance if such action is taken. It's a loss for both of us.

　I see.
　It would certainly make it impossible for a strike to happen again.

　It's not good for national security to have a strike on a daily basis.
　It's a good idea to prevent strikes on a permanent basis.

　What do we do now, install a control box? It's easy.

　It's just a matter of putting the box down.
　It doesn't cost a lot of money or effort, and it's quick.

　Beyond that I guess we'll just have to take the time to build the system.

　Once that's decided, we'll be able to move quickly. Let's start talking to the representatives of the commoners right away.





　The discussion between me, the ruler, and the commoners, the ruled, took place in the temple.　
　Basically, the temple is a place where weapons are not allowed and blood is not allowed.

　It's a safe place to talk to each other.


　'Let me hear your stories first. What do you want from me?　If what people are looking for is different from one person to another, we don't have the specifications to deal with it.

　I first urged the representatives of the commoners to state their demands.
　Commoners are not monolithic.

　They are simply individuals acting on their own.
　The representatives of the commoners here are relatively large and moderate.

　We want two things," he said. "We want two things," he said, "one is clarification of the law. The monopoly of law by royalty and tycoons is an affront to our lives and property. The other is the cancellation of our debts. As a result of repeated wars, many commoners are in debt.

　The commoner turns to me and begs me to rub his forehead against the ground.
　I could sense from the way he was looking at me that he was genuinely concerned about the commoners as a whole, not for his own wealth or fame.

　And the answer is already in place.

　'I see. 'I see,' he said, and listened. 'Let's get to work on the clarification of the law as soon as possible. The inviolability of private property and criminal equality must be clearly stated. We will strive to ensure that the property, life and limb of the common man will never again be violated by the great families.

　So far, so good.
　But to pay off the debt...

　"You cannot cancel a debt. What is borrowed from others must be paid back, but payment of unjustified interest is against the law. But the payment of undue interest is against the law. The interest need not be paid, and those who receive it must be ordered to return it. I will issue a royal decree that...

　In fact, it is forbidden by national law to charge interest in our country.
　The reason for this is that there is a belief that money is an unearned income. This is because there is a belief that it is unearned income to make money.

　Unearned income is considered morally unacceptable and is forbidden.

　But in reality, it was done openly.
　I paid interest to Ains on my loans, and many wealthy families must have paid interest to their moneylenders and demanded interest from the commoners in their domains.

　It's a somewhat unhealthy situation.
　I'm going to take this opportunity to clean up the mess.

　Let the money lenders cry themselves to sleep.

　But if we don't do this, there will be no one left to lend us money.
　So, as soon as the government settles down, we're going to pass a law to allow interest rates and interest rates.

　About ten percent or less is good enough.


　And I will put up reference boxes in every part of the country. In the future, if you have an opinion, you can post it in the suggestion box.

　You'll have to learn to write on your own.
　I don't have time to listen to the demands of someone who can't read or write either.

　'Is it true, Your Majesty!

　The commoner's representative looked up happily.
　His eyes sparkled.

　It was probably a bad idea to write off the debt, and as for the guidebook box, it wasn't planned.

　'But on one condition.'

　I looked down at the representative.

　'Military service is a duty of the people. This duty must be borne equally by royalty, tycoons, and commoners alike. If you refuse to serve in the future, you will be considered a traitor and will be punished to the uttermost.

　I told the representative unilaterally.
　The representative's face turns blue.

　He must have remembered how I had approached the Cilician Adelnian rebellion during the recent uprising.
　Here I am, and the effect I've been hoping for with my harsh attitude towards the rebellion is beginning to take effect.

　'Wow, I know, sir. I will make sure it doesn't happen again.
　"It's not something you swear by. It's the people's pledge.

　I told him one way or another and walked out of the temple.
　I faced the commoners surrounding the temple.

　I understand your needs. I will issue my vassalage as soon as I am ready. The law will protect the property and lives of those who become my subjects by virtue of this right. Royalty, magnates and subjects shall be punished equally in criminal matters. There will be no undue interest and interest, and debt slavery will be prohibited. In return, they will be subject to military service, taxation, and loyalty to me. These shall be engraved as letters on copper plates and placed throughout the country.

　My words reverberated throughout the entire perimeter of the temple in a witchcraft loudspeaker.

　The crowd fell silent for a moment.
　Then a loud cheer went up.







　Three days had passed since my declaration of vassalage.　
　Many of the commoners had disarmed and stopped striking.

　The reason was that I had demanded their military service and payment of taxes in exchange for clarification of the law and other demands.
　Duties that existed as a matter of course for many commoners until now, are only being made explicit.

　In fact, the obligations are halted and the rights are clearly stated.
　The point of going on strike is no longer lost.


　"Your Majesty has an interesting concept of vassal rights, though I've heard of citizenship, but I've never heard of vassal rights.
　'Well, the content isn't too different from civil rights.

　It was inspired by the Imperial Japanese Constitution and the concept of citizenship in this world.
　Rights do not arise naturally.
　They come from the king.

　The concept of citizenship is instilled in this country.
　This concept is then demonstrated in the form of a certainty of vassalage.

　By doing so, he will ensure that he will rule over the common people.

　'At any rate, we must consider the specifics of vassalage and what to do with the foreigners in the country and those who refuse to accept vassalage.

　But that will have to wait for now.　
　But first.....

　We need to bring the people who started the rebellion to justice.